*Pinwheels arms* Hey, sorry about that accident with posting a chapter for One Fleeting Moment! This is the chapter I meant to post!
- X Yang X-
Yang jerked awake, staring up at Blake with bleary eyes, "What?"
"She's back," Blake said, jerking her thumb towards the bathroom, where a light was just barely visible.
"Can you get that open?" Yang asked.
"Easily," Blake slinked over to the door, a Huntsman's knife appearing in her hand with a slight flourish, the lockpick springing out so she could go begin to fiddle with the door.
"Why do you keep a lockpick on you?" Yang asked. Why did Blake sleep with a knife?
"Habit," Blake said, continuing to work on it, "I used to camp out a lot before coming to Beacon, and the other tools are useful."
"Yang," Pyrrha said, voice soft as she stepped beside her partner, holding up her Scroll. On it was the Aura tracking app, showing Ruby's down by two thirds, "What caused that?"
"Dunno," Yang said, "Blake, you-?"
Before she could finish, the door sprang open with a click. Blake stepped aside, wordlessly gesturing for Yang to enter.
The first thing Yang noticed upon entering the room was the two piles of wet clothes. The first was the familiar, if slick form of Ruby's coat, the second her soaked through pajamas. Yang reached down, carefully gathering both, noticing the grittiness on them, and dropping them in the hamper.
Good thing she had packed Ruby's cloak.
"So," Yang started, sitting on the toilet and sending a message to Pyrrha and Blake asking for another pair of Ruby's pajamas, "Any reason you're taking a shower at four in the morning, sis?"
Ruby gave a loud yelp from inside the shower, sticking her head outside of it, "Yang? What are you doing in here?"
"Checking on you," Yang said, "So?"
"Riku went into his Dive," Ruby said, "I needed go make sure he was alright."
"And that makes you need to take a shower?" Yang drawled.
"I went under the water at one point," Ruby said, "I want to get the salt off."
"You're gonna have to bring me to see this place some time," Yang grunted, reaching back into the hamper to touch the pajamas. Wet, but with some grittiness on them, "You brought Blake before you brought me!'
"Uh…" Ruby said, before giving the weak defence of, "She's me partner?"
"And I'm your sister," Yang said, rolling her eyes, "So?"
"I'll bring you later in the week," Ruby said, "Riku wants to see Beacon this weekend too."
Yang snorted, "You realize you've become a glorified babysitter, right?"
"He needs a bit longer before I start training him," Ruby said, grabbing a sponge and a bottle of soap.
"He needs more than that," Yang said.
"What does that mean?" Ruby asked.
"He's what, six?"
"Five," Ruby said, absentmindedly, as she scrubbed the salt from her skin.
"Point is, he isn't ready to start training," Yang said.
"Aqua thought he was."
Yang closed her eyes, not even bothering to resist the urge to rub her temples. Ruby's opinion of Aqua was too high sometimes, something Yang suspected boiled down to a old fashioned crush Ruby had been harboring on the older girl for years.
She was gonna need to do something about that. Maybe set Ruby up on a date or something, "He's a little kid, Ruby. He's not ready to begin training."
"But Aqua-"
"She wanted you to take him under your wing, yeah, but that doesn't mean he needs to learn how to swing a sword around yet, Rubes. He's a kid. Act like a babysitter for a bit, show him around Vale, take him for ice cream or something. He's gonna get a Keyblade either way, so you're gonna have a long time to train him. Just relax."
"...You really think that'd work?" Ruby asked, voice cracked.
"Yeah," Yang said, planting a hand on Ruby's shoulder, "You're fifteen, Ruby. It sucks that Eraqus is dead, Ven's in a coma and Terra's MIA on some backwater world, but that doesn't mean you should just throw away your own teen years. Ok?"
"Ok," Ruby nodded, "Thanks, Yang."
"Hey, what are big sisters for?" Yang grinned, "I'm gonna get your PJs."
- X Jaune X-
Jaune's eyes opened slowly at the ringing of his his alarm, before he closed them. It could wait a bit longe-
"Alright," Weiss said, planting her feet on the ground, "time to wake up. We need to have a team meeting."
"Do we have to?" Jaune whined.
"Yes," Weiss said, voice broking no argument as she marched over to his bed, dragging him into a sitting position before she grabbed her uniform, "Nora and I are going to change, you and Lie have ten minut-"
"Ren," Ren said, sitting up and sweeping his hand through his hair, breaking up several knots in it with that one move.
"What?" Weiss said.
"Call me Ren," he said, "Everyone does."
"Ren, then," Weiss said, reaching out to touch Nora, who sprang out of bed with a wide grin, stretching.
"Good morning~!" Nora trilled, waving to Ren and Jaune, "What's up, Weiss-y?"
"Don't call me Weiss-y," Weiss snapped, grabbing her uniform and stalking into the bathroom with Nora.
"What's got her in such a bad mood?" Jaune asked Ren, who shrugged.
"I don't know," Ren said, pulling out his uniform and beginning to change, "I barely saw her after classes yesterday."
"Same," Jaune said, grabbing his uniform too. That was the first thing he hadn't expected about Beacon. The uniforms. They were stiff, the pants rubbed his legs the wrong way when he walked, the sleeves of his shirt did the same to his arms, the tie was tight, and the entire thing was just hot.
The last two was a bit familiar from Saphron and Terra's wedding. That tuxedo had been, if anything, worse.
Jaune crinkled his toes within the dress shoes, tying the thin laces. They also weren't comfortable, but in the same way any pair of new shoes were. He just didn't get why they had to wear this stuff! Weren't they supposed to be learning to fight? How did stiff uniforms help with that?
Finally, Weiss and Nora came out of the bathroom. Weiss sat at the desk, legs crossed, as she stared at Jaune. Jaune laughed nervously, "What's up, Snow Ang-"
"Don't," Weiss cut Jaune off, "Call me that… you're not supposed to be here, are you?"
Jaune felt his heart stop, the smile freezing on his face, before he gave an uncomfortable laugh, "I don't know what you mean!"
"Yeah!" Nora said, latching her arm around Jaune's neck and dragging him into a headlock, apparently blissfully unaware of how she was choking him, "Jaune-y might not have done as much as some others during initiation, but he-"
"Doesn't have his Aura unlocked," Weiss snapped.
Jaune wanted to point out that he didn't even know what Aura was, or why it was important, but the part of him that wasn't preoccupied with Nora unintentionally killing him pointed out that that would probably just support Weiss's point. Was it that big, that not having his Aura was enough to give away him faking his transcripts? He knew his classmates were able to do weird stuff, like pin him to a tree from far away (he still had the bruises from that), create thick walls of ice and shatter those walls, but he didn't think he would miss that much.
"So?" Nora asked, "maybe that just means he's super powerful without it! You know, like that character on shows who can't have Aura, and just train to be as strong as people who do, and then become mega strong when they finally unlock it!? That's so c-!"
"Nora, let go of him," Ren said, staring at his Scroll.
Jaune gasped for air the moment Nora let go of him, coughing as his throat burned. Owwwwwwww…
"If you snuck in," Weiss huffed to Jaune, as she stormed out of the room, "You should just admit it. You're endangering people by being here, and you could get in trouble for it."
Then she slammed the door shut, leaving the other three members staring at it, before Nora stuck her tongue out at the door, "Well, she's a jerk!"
Ren didn't say anything, just staring at Jaune.
- X Blake X-
Blake watched Ruby grab various food from around the cafeteria with a careful eye. Yesterday, she hadn't really paid attention to it, but what someone ate could tell a lot about someone.
Pyrrha, for example, had grabbed another slice of fish, with a side of Mistralan yogurt mixed with nuts and blueberries, a meal clearly meant to give her energy, while also not adding weight. Meanwhile, Yang grabbed a steak, eggs, and some toast.
Ruby on the other hand, went right for the sugar, if not in the way in the way Blake expected. She bypassed the Pumpkin Pete's completely (Pyrrha actually stopped to briefly and 'subtly' flip the box around so it wasn't facing Team RNBY's spot), instead grabbing grits, which she then proceeded to pour a truly baffling amount of honey on, a scone, which she did the same to, a side of strawberries, and hot chocolate before sitting down next to Yang.
"That can't be healthy," Pyrrha said as Ruby practically inhaled the hot chocolate.
"Ruby burns a lot of energy," Yang said, "Like, a lot of energy."
"Plus, I'm tired," Ruby said as she grabbed her spoon and beginning to tear into the grits.
"Where'd you even go?" Blake asked.
"Destiny Islands," Ruby said, standing up to grab more hot chocolate. The student sitting next to it rolled their eyes and handed the pot to Ruby, who snagged it and walked back over to their seat, pouring more into her mug and continuing to drink it, "I got a call Riku needed me."
Well, at least that put a name to the location, it might be easier to find it on a map that way. But still… "And you woke up and went? You're not his mother, Ruby."
Right? Please agree, please. Ruby, in spite of the breakdowns, seemed fairly childish. The other option was…disgusting.
"Yeah," Ruby agreed, downing more hot chocolate, "but he's my apprentice, it's my job to take care of him."
"But he has-"
"Don't," Yang said with a sigh and shake of her head, "I already talked to her about it."
The room was suddenly filled with the noise of hundreds of chirps at various volumes. Blake closer her eyes, screwing them up under her eyelids as her ears flattened and she gouged her fingers into the table. Owww…
Loud noises had always made Blake uncomfortable, she had long lost count of the amount of times she had been driven to tears during storm season in Menagerie as a kid, but over the years, she had mostly learned to live with it. Now, it was only unexpected cacophonies, like the one that had just echoed across Beacon's cafeteria, that set her off.
Blake's eyes sprang open as a hand gently touched hers, grabbing it and crushing it on instinct. If Ruby was fazed by her partner doing her best to break the hand, however, she didn't show it, "Are you alright?" Ruby asked, voice soft.
"Yeah," Blake said, voice horse. No, no she wasn't, "What was that?"
"Schedules," Pyrrha said, holding up her Scroll.
"That explains why they all went off at once," Blake said, shaking her head in an attempt to get rid of the ringing, "What's first?"
"Survival," Pyrrha said, diligently, "With Professor Peach."
- X Weiss X-
Weiss sat, legs crossed, at one of the cafes in the small town built to accommodate the students of Beacon, staring at news reports on her Scroll with blank eyes as she ate her breakfast. Super powerful without Aura, ridiculous.
Weiss sighed as her Scroll's ringtone went off, Ren's name and face appearing in front of her eyes. Weiss hit the button, bringing it to her ear, "What?"
"Classes start soon," Ren said, voice soft.
"I know," Weiss snapped, "I'll be th-"
"Don't," Ren cut her off, "hang up on me yet. I want to talk to you."
"About Jaune?"
"Yes."
"What? Going to reprem-"
"I'm not saying that you're wrong about him sneaking in," Ren said, "and I'm not saying that you were wrong for reporting it, because I'm sure you did, but you need to think about how you're going about this."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means, that we've been on a team for a day now, and this is the first real conversation we had. You didn't even know I don't like using my first name, despite the fact that Jaune di know that. You weren't around at all yesterday, despite being our leader."
"I was dealing with a probl-!"
"And do you think that's where your job ends?"
"What?"
"Weiss," Ren said, "You're not in charge of a company like the SDC here, you're our team leader. We're going to need to fight together. We need to practice together."
"But Jaune-"
"Is one fourth of the the team," Ren said, "but even if he is removed, you, Nora and I will still be here. Unless you're planning to find a way to get rid of us too…"
Weiss recoiled from the Scroll, jaw dropping open. How dare he…! "Of course not!"
"Then we need to train together," Ren said, "We need to get to know each other. Have you told anyone about Jaune?"
"Yes, Professor Goodwitch-"
"Then trust her to deal with it from here on," Ren said, "and let's focus on working as a team for now."
"But if I unlock Jaune's Aura, the eviden-"
"Then put him on the bench for now," Ren sighed, "and focus on those of us who are sure to be here when the dust clears. I'll see you in class, right?"
"Right."
"Good," Ren said, "I'll see you soon, then."
- X Pyrrha X-
Pyrrha breathed in as they continued the march out of Beacon, smiling at the crisp smell of the sea to their left. It reminded her of home.
"I don't get why we can't use Bumblebee," Yang complained, arms behind her head.
"Bumblebee?" Pyrrha questioned.
"Her motorcycle," Ruby supplied, "You won't always be able to use her, Yang."
"Like you're one to talk, Miss Teleporter," Yang said, elbowing her sister, "I mean, you're practically cheating, being able to summon Crescent Rose to you, not being slowed down by it!"
"Ember Celica aren't even that heavy, Yang," Ruby said, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, but how do you think Blake and Pyrrha feel?"
"Leave me out of this," Blake said without missing a beat, or even looking up from the book she was reading.
"I'm used to Miló and Akoúo̱," Pyrrha said.
"Bah!" Yang crossed her arms with a huff, "ruin my fun, why don't you?"
"Hey, Blake?" Ruby said.
"What?" Blake asked, sounding exasperated as she looked up.
"What's your sword called?"
"You… want to know my sword's name?" Blake blinked.
"Yeah!" Ruby grinned, an explosion of fire that was slowly becoming familiar appeared in her hand, fading to reveal her sword, "this is Crescent Rose! She's my baby!"
Pyrrha bit the inside of her cheek, trying to avoid laughing at the bewildered look on Blake's face before a flash of purplish light appeared in Ruby's other hand, revealing the other sword, "And this is Master Defender!"
"...Gambol Shroud," Blake said.
"Gamble Shroud?" Ruby said, eyebrows scrunching up as she let Master Defender vanish, continuing to hold Crescent Rose (a name that wasn't very fitting, in Pyrrha's opinion, as there was a lack of curves on anything but the guard).
"Gambol," Blake stressed.
"What's that mean?"
"It means to run, jump… uh…"
"Oh, like a ninja?" Ruby said.
"Yeah, I guess-"
"Sweet!" Ruby smiled, eyes twinkling, "I always thought ninjas were super cool when I was younger!"
"Thanks," Blake said, "Now I'm going to go back to readi-"
"Hey! Heeeey!" Pyrrha turned at Jaune's voice, watching him jog towards them as Blake gave an exasperated sigh, "Do you guys know where class is?"
"Yes," Pyrrha said, "Where's your Team?"
"I… uh…" Jaune gave a nervous laugh, "dunno. Weiss stormed off this morning, and Nora and Ren went out to get something to eat. Mind if I tag along with you girls, until we get there?"
"I guess," Ruby said.
-X AN X-
This whole Jaune thing is gonna put my teetotaling to the test. This might be the last chapter of Fears for a bit, because I can not, for the life of me, find any justification for Ozpin keeping Jaune around for any amount of time that doesn't involve him being willing to outright danger people for one kid's dream. And believe me I've deleted multiple arguments between Glynda and him on the matter during the writing of this chapter because every last one had him come across as disgustingly callous.
Also, going back to the Vault of the Spring Maiden, it is never said that Gretchen was a case of Ruby. We're just told that she enrolled at Beacon against Hazel's wishes, and died on a training mission. Hazel says she was too young, but considering that Hazel clearly had problems with her being there to begin with, he's not exactly an unbiased source